Actor turned director Jack Huston on the real struggles behind debut 'Day of the Fight'

Record ID: 1866221

  • Title: Actor turned director Jack Huston on the real struggles behind debut 'Day of the Fight'
  • Date: 4th December 2024
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 20, 2024) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, JACK HUSTON, SAYING: "I mean, we had a day and a half on the boxing scene and in, sort of, relation to other boxing movies, that's a tenth, you know, probably a hundredth of what some other movies have had. But thank God I had Mike (Michael Pitt) as my sort of partner in cr
  • Embargoed: 18th December 2024 21:51
  • Keywords: Actor Boxing Day of the Fight Director Drama Jack Huston Michael Pitt
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES; CANNES, FRANCE; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
  • City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES; CANNES, FRANCE; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA00B367029112024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: CONTAINS PROFANITY
    Actor-turned-director Jack Huston has a rich family history in Hollywood.
    His great-grandfather Walter Huston was a leading man when 'talkies' first arrived in Hollywood and even won an Oscar for 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre', directed by Jack's grandfather, John Huston, who also won two Oscars for directing and writing the film.
    Jack's aunt is Hollywood star Anjelica Huston and his uncle is director and actor Danny Huston.
    But that didn't mean that the 'Boardwalk Empire' and 'House of Gucci' actor didn't have trouble directing and writing his first feature film 'Day of the Fight'.
    "I can, without question, say this has been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," Huston told Reuters. "It's also still happening. You know, the film hasn't come out yet. I mean, every day is still a fight. It's fight of the day not day of the fight. Every day is a new fight, a new hurdle."
    Huston took some family advice when casting the lead Michael Pitt, his co-star in 'Boardwalk Empire' as Irish Mike Flannigan, a terminally ill boxer trying to make amends in his life before he dies.
    "I take a nice piece of advice I heard my grandfather say, which is 90 percent is casting," said Huston.
    "I wrote every word for Michael Pitt. I knew that it was going to be Michael Pitt. I wouldn't have it any other way. I believe that when you cast an actor, you're giving them the role, that they own it now."
    The film culminates with a boxing match, which Irish Mike knows he isn't going to survive.
    "We had a day and a half on the boxing scene and in sort of relation to other boxing movies, that's a tenth, you know, probably a hundredth of what some other movies have had. But thank God I had Mike (Michael Pitt) as my sort of partner in crime," Huston said.
    Pitt, who trained hard as a boxer, put so much into the sequence that he lost track of time.
    "I remember when we were shooting the fight sequence that I asked for a break. We started the fight and it was like, ding, ding, ding, and the fight started and it never ended. And I asked for like a five-minute break because I felt tired and I went outside and I was like, I'm tired. I didn't condition myself well enough. And then someone told me how long we had been shooting. We'd been shooting for like eight hours. And I was like, Oh, I'm fine."
    'Day of the Fight', which also stars Joe Pesci, Steve Buscemi and Ron Perlman, goes on release on December 6.
    (Production: Rollo Ross)
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